


First

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 06:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7606786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damian always fought for everyone, but when was the last time someone fought for him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	First

**Author's Note:**

> I got thinking too much about Dick and Damian again yesterday, so. Here. Vaguely around Rebirth time. Bit inspired by ‘First’ by Cold War Kids. A lot of those lyrics reminded me a lot of D and D, y’all. A lot.

Dick was still in the cave. Checking his equipment one last time before he hit the road.

His Nightwing suit was on, sans the mask, and he couldn’t have been prouder of the man his son had become.

…Still.

“You don’t have to do this.” Bruce murmured. “We can take down the Court together.”

“Parliament.” Dick joked, but instantly sobered. “And I do, Bruce. You know that.”

“You don’t.” Bruce pushed.

“I _do_.” Dick smirked, not looking up from his bag. “After all. Who else is going to fight for Damian if I don’t?”

“You don’t _have_ to fight for Damian.” Bruce countered. “You already saved him. You’ve done enough.”

“I haven’t. And you know better than anyone, Bruce, that in our line of work? Safe doesn’t actually mean _safe_.” Dick’s face steeled, and he slammed another weapon into his bag with a little more force than necessary. “Sure, the bomb’s out of Damian’s skull. But who’s to say that doesn’t mean they won’t try to implant another one? Won’t chase him down again? Maybe kidnap him as a civilian?”

Bruce remained silent.

“For all the times Damian fought for me. For _us_. For _everything_.” Dick sighed, glanced up. “I think it’s about time one of us fought for him.”

Bruce exhaled in exasperation, though Dick could hear the acknowledgement of truth. “Dick-”

“When he got here, in Gotham, he fought to be allowed to stay. When I gave him Robin, he fought to keep it. When things got bad, he fought for us – me and him, Batman and Robin. …When you came back, when I _left_ , he fought for you. For _your_ safety, and your _love_.” Dick paused in his movements, staring blankly down into his belongings. “When he died it was because he was fighting for _me_. Just me. When he came back, he immediately fought for his family. Against aliens _ten times his size_.”

Dick stopped, and swallowed the clear lump in his throat.

“When he went on that atonement thing, he was finally, _finally_ , fighting for himself.” Dick’s voice was barely a whisper. “And when his father’s city was in danger, he came back and fought for it. And when the Court needed their Gray Son, he dropped everything to fight for me _again_.” Pause. “So, tell me again, Bruce. When exactly did any of us _ever_ actually fight for him?”

Bruce hesitated. “Dick, those were all choices _he_ _willingly_ made.”

“Choices he should have _never_ had to.” Dick snapped, jerking his head around. “He’s ten, Bruce. _Ten_ , and he was going to turn his back on everything. Leave us, leave everything he loved, commit figurative _suicide_ , just to keep _me_ out of the Court’s grubby little hands.”

Bruce sighed again.

“And we’re the ones who let him believe that that was a choice _he_ had to make. We let him get used to fighting alone, to believe he was _always_ going to fight alone. That it was his job to fight every monster the world threw at us. That _he_ was our front line, and _anything_ less than that was _failure_ on his part.” Dick continued. “…Bruce, we let our baby believe he had to make that choice. That he had to keep fighting, for every person, for every safety, for ever happiness – for _everything_ in his life, because no one else would.”

Bruce blinked, and looked over towards the suit cases, where Jason’s old Robin garb was still on display. Where Damian’s – the uniform he was stabbed through in – was too.

“I’m not doing it anymore.” Dick continued quietly. “I’m not letting him fight the world on his own anymore. He’s fought for us since he got here – for his whole damn life. It’s about time someone fought for him too.”

And as much as Bruce wanted to argue it – that they could all fight for him here, in Gotham, together – he knew he couldn’t. Knew that that stubbornness was a commonality amongst all his children.

“So.” Dick huffed, turning back to his bag. “I’ll take down the threat abroad. Anything and anyone who so much as _looks_ his way – Parliaments, Courts, your local cupcake baker – and I’ll take them down. _Permanently_ if I have to.”

Bruce knew better than anyone – that threat was probably real.

“And you protect him here.” Dick concluded, glancing up to make sure Bruce heard him. “You keep him _close_ and trained. Pain of death on anyone who hurts him, both masked and civilian. Maybe teach him how to run from a threat, every so often, or how _not_ to sacrifice himself. And…” Dick hesitated. “…Maybe teach him how fucking _loved_ he is. How _shattered_ we’d all be if we lost him again. How-”

“How he doesn’t have to do everything by himself.” Bruce added. “How he can rely on us, because we’re a family.”

Dick blinked, and grinned. “Only took you five-plus kids to get a hang of the whole dad-thing, eh?”

“Hm.” Bruce frowned. “You better get going, if you are. Damian will be home soon, and I know as well as you do – you aren’t going to be able to say goodbye to him face to face and still actually leave.”

“What would be more likely, you think? That he’d force me to stay or demand to come with me?”

“I’d put money on the latter, to be honest.”

Dick snorted a laugh. “Give him a hug for me, will you, Bruce?”

“No.” Bruce countered. “Hug him yourself when you come home safe.”

Dick smirked. “Deal.” Stop. “…At least love him for me while I’m gone?”

Bruce paused. “As much as I can.”

“Perfect.” Dick suddenly zipped up the bag, and slung it over his shoulder. “Well. I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Sooner rather than later.” Bruce mumbled. “Contact the cave when you hit your first safe house.”

“Okay, _Dad_.” Dick rolled his eyes. “You be safe, too, okay? If there’s even a _chance_ you or Damian won’t come home from a fight, don’t even go, got it?”

“Okay, _son_.” Bruce mocked right back. Dick giggled and started moving towards his bike. Bruce watched in silence as he hooked up his bag, and reached first for his mask, and then his helmet.

As soon as he was situated, and the bike revved up. Dick paused, and looked up.

“Love you, Bruce.”

Dick immediately snapped his visor down, and took off down the runway. Bruce felt a smile quirking onto his face as he almost immediately heard the door to the manor open, and the sounds of Damian talking to Titus float through the cavern.

“Love you too, Dick.”


End file.
